Mopalia muscosa

Mopalia muscosa, the mossy chiton, is a species of chiton, a polyplacophoran, an eight-plated marine mollusk. It is a northeastern Pacific species which occurs from British Columbia, Canada, to Baja California Mexico.[1][2][3]

Mopalia muscosa
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Polyplacophora
Order: Chitonida
Family: Mopaliidae
Genus: Mopalia
Species:
M. muscosa
Binomial name
Mopalia muscosa
(Gould, 1846)
Synonyms[1]

Chiton muscosus' Gould, 1846

This species is found in the middle and lower intertidal zone on exposed rocky shores. Mopalia muscosa can be 40 to 55 mm (1.6 to 2.2 in) in length. In life it is quite often covered with growths of algae such that it is difficult or impossible to really see the plates. The girdle is covered in coarse hair-like bristles or "setae". Some have even been known to be covered in a sort of brown sludge which resembles refried beans. The eight shelly plates are brown or dark grey, and are a turquoise blue on the inner surfaces. Some are so fluorescent that they are known to glow in the dark and flash pink polka dots.[2]

  • Mossy chiton found in Tribune Bay, Hornsby Island British Columbia
  • A small specimen covered in and surrounded by encrusting Lithothamnion red alga
gollark: It lets you listen on sockets.
gollark: OC can do it, actually.
gollark: <@270035320894914560> No.
gollark: I can't see problems (the source link works, right?).
gollark: Maybe make it `shift` and not `amount`.

References
  1. "Mopalia muscosa (Gould, 1846)". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species.
  2. McLean, James H. (1978). Marine Shells of Southern California. Los Angeles: Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. ISBN 0-938644-03-3.
  3. Cowles, Dave. "Mopalia muscosa – Invertebrates of the Salish Sea". inverts.wallawalla.edu. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.